Tiger Cubs pick up tenth win

Friday, February 17, 2006

In a game the Tiger Cubs had to win, at home and on senior night, Greencastle advanced their record to 10-10 defeating visiting Southmont, 79-68.

Greencastle took an early lead off of a jumper from junior Erick Burgeson and never relinquished the lead through the rest of the game.

Through the first eight minutes, Southmont made run after run but was only able to tie with less than a minute left at 15. Greencastle answered with a long ball from outside the arc to end the first period up 18-15.

The rest of the first half ran much the same. Neither team was able to control the offensive boards and turnovers were frequent. Still, the Mounties stayed with the full court pressure. Greencastle answered by running the ball and relying on fast break points as they closed in on a comfortable 42-34 lead at the end of two.

With the game seemingly well in hand Greencastle head coach Troy Greenlee never stopped coaching. "Our biggest problem I think is when we are shooting well and scoring we tend to slack up a little on defense. That allows the other teams to stay in the game," he said.

After notable halftime adjustments both teams came out off balance. Half-way through the third quarter, only nine points had been scored between the two teams.

Offensive rebounds still plagued both teams and Southmont suffered turnovers from bad passes and frustration at the Tiger Cubs' full court pressure.

"I think decision making hurt us in the long run," Mounties head coach Dave Williamson. "They got going early and got confident. That made it hard for us to get back in the game."

The frustration over a slurry of fouls in the second half got the better of Williamson as he was charged with a technical foul for being on the court arguing his case with an official.

Leading scorers for Greencastle were junior Cal Gard and sophomore Brennan Burks, each with 23.

The Tiger Cubs' lone senior, Quinn Fenlon, scored five points in his last home game for Greencastle.

"Quinn will be missed," said Greenlee. "He's a very athletic kid and brings a lot to the team with his hustle and energy. He may not score the big points every night but breaks a lot of things open for us with his hard work."

For Greencastle the win means a .500 record with one regular season game left before sectionals. Next Friday the Tiger Cubs meet North Montgomery.

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